Hot rumor: Insiders get Real in pursuit of Gordon Hayward

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Gordon Hayward watches during the game between the Charlotte Hornets and the Philadelphia 76ers.

As time goes on and the start of training camp gets closer and closer, the possibility that the Miami Heat could make a serious play for Kevin Durant or Donovan Mitchell (or not at all big star) feels more and more like a fantasy dream. The pessimistic fans aren’t the only ones who think it’s time to have a backup plan.

When speaking to Heavy.com’s Sean Deveney, a league executive indicated that Heat prez Pat Riley could shift focus to buying another player with All-Star credits instead. Specifically, Hornets striker Gordon Hayward, who the executive called “someone they’re going to keep an eye on.”

Added CEO: “If you want to give up [Tyler] Herro before you pay him and you want to move [Duncan] Robinson, you’ll have to add one option, but those two and Omer [Yurtseven]that might be enough to get Hayward. “

However, a Heat insider dismissed the notion that the Hayward deal makes sense for the team.

Winderman Pooh-Poohs Hayward Deals

The Sun Sentinel’s Ira Winderman was asked by a reader about the possibility of a Heat-Hayward collaboration for his latest letter bag work. And while the Miami mainstay admits there’s a good reason for the idea, he doesn’t endorse it as a realistic option.

“Looks like that ship has sailed,” Winderman wrote. “Unless the Heat choose to go full force in Kyle Lowry’s final two seasons under contract, with Hayward’s contract fitting into that timetable.”

Even then, Winderman doubted that there was a legitimate path to bringing the 2017 All-Star (as a member of the Utah Jazz) to the Heat.

“It’s not Duncan Robinson’s $16.9 million that gets you close enough to the required salary,” Winderman writes. “And Robinson and Tyler Herro would seem a hefty price tag for a player who only appeared in 49 games last season and only 44 games last season.”

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An imperfect marriage

In a vacuum, Hayward has the look of a ball player who can bring home a goal in any situation. His size between 6-8 and 230 combined with the Swiss Army knife skills on both sides of the ball make him a rare air in the Association.

Last season, Butler Aluminum averaged 15.9 points, 4.6 pounds, 3.6 assists and 1.0 steals per contest with a 46-39-85 shot split.

Alas, Hayward’s high dollar contract – he is due over $61 million over the next two years – and that sketchy injury history is enough to put any team on hold. That goes double for a franchise like Heat, which has already tightened its salary cap in an effort to put up a championship roster.

In theory, there could be a lot to like about G-Time in SoFlo, but the Heat would find themselves lousy, lousy if such an acquisition were to take place in the south.

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